Stories, audio, and videos can all help you learn Norwegian when you can follow what they mean. That is the idea behind comprehensible input: learning from Norwegian you can mostly understand. Norway has just one newspaper written in easy Norwegian, Klar Tale, and much of the other easy Norwegian that learners use comes from teachers' podcasts and YouTube channels.
These apps and sites help you find Norwegian at your level, or make the Norwegian you choose easier to follow. For courses, speaking practice, and tutors, see our Norwegian app comparison.
Custom Lessons Made for You
Bubblegum
Learn Norwegian with a path made just for you. Start with your level, what you like, and why you want to learn. Your path grows as you learn, with new lessons that fit you. Bubblegum also has news and stories, so you can read and listen to a mix of Norwegian about music, food, family, or everyday life.
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes each lesson for you. If a word or a sentence is hard to follow, just ask her to explain it.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum can't help with Norwegian you found yourself. For an article, a book, or a video you already picked, the apps in Read and Watch Norwegian You Choose are the better fit.
- Read and listen to lessons, news, and stories about things you like.
- Each new lesson fits your level, interests, and goals.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, so you review them by reading instead of using flashcards.
- Ask Poppy about a sentence while you read.
- You cannot bring in your own books, shows, or articles.
- AI voices read each lesson, not recordings of Norwegian speakers.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so you can ask Poppy for a free one, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
Read and Listen to Stories for Learners
LingQ
LingQ has a library of Norwegian lessons, from its Mini Stories to NTNU's A1 course, the Norskpodden podcast, and fairy tales for children. It marks the words you have not met yet and the ones you are still learning, so you can see what is new on each page. One learner on Reddit reads one short story a day and likes how the stories get harder step by step.
- Start with 62 Mini Stories that teach the basic patterns of Norwegian.
- Hear the audio and read the text together.
- Bring in YouTube videos, books, and articles of your own.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Duostories
Duostories is a volunteer project that brings Duolingo's short stories to more languages, with Duolingo's permission. Its Norwegian stories are about everyday moments, such as a date, a passport, or a cup of coffee. It suits learners who like short stories with questions that check what they understood.
- 48 free stories in Bokmål and 40 in Nynorsk.
- Answer short questions as you read each story.
- A listening mode plays a story and skips the questions.
MobileWeb
Watch Norwegian TV With Subtitles
NRK TV
NRK is Norway's public broadcaster, and learners on Reddit name it more than any other source. They suggest starting with NRK Super's cartoons, then moving on to family comedies such as Familien Lykke and Side om side. Some say the Norwegian subtitles help them link the words they hear to the words they read.
- Watch NRK's series, documentaries, and news, plus NRK Super's shows for children, in one app.
- Turn on Norwegian subtitles, which NRK must add to every pre-recorded show.
MobileWeb
Read the News in Easy Norwegian
Klar Tale
Klar Tale writes for people who are learning Norwegian and for people who find reading hard. Learners on Reddit suggest it when the regular news feels too difficult. It suits learners who want short, current articles about Norway.
- News from Norway and the world, written in simple words and large type.
- Have an article on the website read aloud, or make the text bigger.
- Listen to the weekly audio edition, which is also a podcast.
MobileWeb
Read and Watch Norwegian You Choose
These tools help you learn from Norwegian articles, books, and videos you pick yourself. They suit learners who already know what they want to read or watch.
Readlang
Readlang helps you read Norwegian articles, books, and web pages. A learner on Reddit who has used it for about ten months likes that it also works with news articles and YouTube videos.
- Tap a word or a short phrase in a Norwegian text to see what it means.
- Read texts that other learners added, each marked with a level, such as A2 or B1.
- Review the words you looked up with flashcards.
- Flashcards
WebBrowser extension
Language Reactor
Language Reactor works with YouTube and Netflix. Its Norwegian page gathers videos from Norwegian channels, from listening practice for learners to talk shows and news. It is free to install, with paid extras.
- Find Norwegian YouTube videos that match how many words you know.
- See Norwegian subtitles beside a translation, with a pop-up dictionary.
- Pause and replay one line when it goes too fast.
Browser extension
Free Norwegian to Hear, Watch, and Read
Marius Stangeland makes two podcasts in clear, slow Norwegian, with transcripts on Lær norsk nå: Norsk for Beginners for levels A1 and A2, and Lær norsk nå! for B1 and B2. Norskpodden from Lingu talks about language and culture every other Friday, and Tula Tenker Høyt uses slow, clear phrases for levels A2 to C2. On YouTube, Norsklærer Karense teaches Norwegian in Norwegian, and on Mikael's Norwegian Lessons, Mikael speaks Norwegian while he does everyday things, from making pizza to playing Wordle. When you are ready for more, the NRK Radio app has all of NRK's podcasts and live radio.
For reading, Barnebøker for Norge has 40 free picture stories at five levels in Bokmål and Nynorsk, and you can listen while you read. Lille norske leksikon is an encyclopedia written for children. Many learners on Reddit start with The Mystery of Nils, a beginner's textbook told as one story that grows into a novel, with free exercises on its site. To find easy books for adults, Boksøk from Stiftelsen Lese has a list of books for people who are learning Norwegian.
Learn Norwegian in Your Language
These counts cover menu-language choices, including script variants. Other apps’ counts and full lists come from their iPhone listings, except Language Reactor (Chrome Web Store) and Readlang (its help forum). Word meanings, lesson explanations, and other platforms may differ.
| App | Supported Display Languages | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Full list
|
| LingQ | 17 | Full list |
| Duostories | 1 | Full list |
| NRK TV | 1 | Full list |
| Klar Tale | 1 | Full list |
| Readlang | 1 | Full list |
| Language Reactor | 27 | Full list |
Other Apps We Looked At (8)
- BeelinguappNorwegian stories beside your own language, with audio read by Norwegian speakers.
- Fluent FictionNorwegian stories as a podcast and an app. Each story is followed by a retelling that switches between Norwegian and English line by line, with a word list.
- MikrohistorieShort stories for learners from about level A2, recorded in the Oslo dialect, with some also in Bergen, North Norway, and South Norway dialects. You write down what you hear and say each line out loud. It is new and growing.
- HinbunNorwegian lessons that move from words to conversations to stories you read and listen to, with a tap to translate any word.
- LingueLibraryClassic stories rewritten for each level from A1 to C2, with a tap to see translations and grammar tables. It is new and growing.
- ErlaShort stories with sentence translations, listening practice, and AI conversations in Bokmål. It is new and growing.
- Short Stories in Norwegian for BeginnersEight stories written for learners by Olly Richards, which several learners on Reddit recommend.
- Ett lite bildeglimtSlow listening practice for beginners on YouTube, recommended by learners on r/norsk.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose Norwegian at the right level?
Pick something where you already know almost every word. In one study, readers needed to know about 98 out of 100 words in a story to follow it well. If you stop on almost every line, try something easier.
Should I start with Bokmål or Nynorsk?
Start with the one you will read most. Bokmål and Nynorsk are both written Norwegian with equal standing, and Bokmål is the one most people write. For easy Nynorsk, Klar Tale also makes Klart & Kort, a newspaper that comes out every second Thursday.
Which Norwegian accent will I hear?
Norway has no official rules for how to say Norwegian words, and every dialect counts as equal, so you will hear many on TV and radio. Learners on Reddit suggest NRK's Norge rundt, which visits people all over the country, to get used to them.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so you can ask Poppy for a free one, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Klar Tale, About Klar Tale
- NRK, Tilgjengelighet: Hva sier loven at NRK må tekste?
- Reddit r/norsk, NRK TV programs for learners
- Barnebøker for Norge, Om oss
- Stiftelsen Lese, Om Boksøk
- Hu and Nation (2000), Unknown vocabulary density and reading comprehension
- Språkrådet: Norsk er både bokmål og nynorsk
- Språkrådet: Uttaleråd
- Bubblegum
- LingQ
- Duostories
- NRK TV
- Readlang
- Language Reactor
Checked on October 8, 2026 against each app's own pages.
